Joseph battin



1; BATTIN .Gas Regulator.

No. 5,300. Patented Sep t; 18,1847."-

JOSEPH BATTIN, or PHILQDELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

cits-REGULATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 5,300, dated September 18, 1847.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOSEP BATTIN, of the cityof Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new anduseful Improvement in the Manner of Disfrom GasotributingIlluminating-Gas meters used at Gas-Works; by which improvement I amenabled to regulate the pressure by which the distributer is effectedmore perfectly and economically than by any of the methods heretoforepracticed for that purpose, and I do hereby declare that the followingis a full and exact description thereof. I

In the distribution of illuminating gas by the means heretofore adopted,it has'been found extremely diflicult to equalize the pressure in thepipes of distribution; when the supply is too small there is, of course,a diminution of the light which the'burners ought to give out, and whenthe pressure is too great, the gas meters are caused to overflow, bywhich they are rendered unfit for use, until they are again suppliedwith water.

The gas is forced through the distribution pipes by its own elasticity,as it is received from the generators, and by the descent of the upper,or floating; vessel of the gasometer, the weight of which iscounterpoised to such extent as to allow it to have a descending powerwhich shall'approxi mate as nearly as may be to that required for thedistribution; but, from various causes, this weight is liable to vary inits action, and does not sufiice to produce the desired efiect, as iswell known to those fa-' miliar with gas Works.

It has been attempted to regulate the flow of gas by placing a man toturn a wheel having an apparatus appended to it de-= signed to equalizethe flow, but this plan was soon abandoned; more recently a conical selfacting governor has been introduced, which has partially obviated thedifficulty stated; this self acting governor I will presently describe,as I employ it in my improved mode of constructing the regulatingapparatus; but I have combined with it a mercurial seal, by which theself regulation is rendered efiicient; my improvement removing thedefect of an imperfect stoppage of the supply when the pressure is suchas to require it. It was not, in fact, found possible so to constructthis regulator as to effectually out off the supply of gas, ;when it wasrequisite so to do, until the jmercurial seal was combined therewith by:me.

Int-heaccompanying drawing Figure 1,

{is a sectional view of, a gasometer, taken iverticallythrough itscenter, and represent: ing my improvement in the manner of regulatingthe pressure in the distributionof gas. Fig. 2, is a separate view of myimgPIOVBd governor or regulator.

A,is the tank, or Outer vessel, of the gasometer, and B, its floatingvessel, suspended and 'counterpoised by weights in the usual manner, asshown at G. Fromthe floating vessel B, is suspended, by the rod C, the

conical regulating valve C; which is allowed to work up and down withinthe cylindrical space E, with the rising and falling of the vessel B.The space E, constitutes a part of the inlet pipe E, through which thegasometer is to be supplied.

F, is the outlet pipe communicating with the street mains.

D, is a cap or cover, adaptedto the enlarged part E, of the inlet pipe.This cap is furnished with a descending rim a, a, that is intended topass into an annular mercury cup '6, b, that surrounds the conicalregulating valve at its lower end. The conical valve, or regulator C,has been used without the mercury cup, and has to a certain extent, beenfound useful; but it is a polnt of greatimportance to be able perfectlyto arrest the flow of gas into the gasometer when ithas become filled,as

otherwise the weight of the floating vessel andthat 'of'the elasticforce with which the gas enters are combined in forcingthe said gas intothe outlet and distributing pipes, and the meters are liable tooverflow. In a large and cumbrous apparatus, like that.

of the gasometer used at gas works, it was i not found possibleeffectually to close the communication between the floating vessel andthe inlet pipe by means of a valve; but

tained the desired end.

" The improved apparatus above described may be consideredas a miniaturegasometer, with the cone regulator and quicksilver by combining themercury cup, or seal, with theconicalvalve or regulator C, I haveatcounter weights of the gasometer have been duly regulated so as togive the desired pressure, and the influx of gas has beensuch as to fillthe gasometer, the conical regulator will be raised so as to bring thequicksilver seal into action, and thereby the further inflow of gas willbe prevented, until the vessel B, of the gasometer again begins todescend; the inflow of gas will" then take place around the base of theconical valve, or regulator, but the space through which it passes willbe comparatively small, but with its descent the space around theconical valve will be increased, and the generated gas will enter morefully. As the gas again passes the regulating cone or governor, and thepressure within the gasometer is sufliciently increased, it will againrise, until the communication is closed by the quicksilver seal, and allincrease of pressure will be prevented.

Having thus fully described the nature of my improvement in the mannerof regulating the, distribution of the gas from a gasometer, what Iclaim thereinas new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

- The manner herein set forth of combin- I do not make claim to eitherof these de vices when taken separately, and uncom bined with thegasometer and inlet pipe, but I limit my claim, exclusively, to theaforesaid combination, for the purpose here-n in fully made known. V

' JOSEPH BATTIN. Witnesses: v I v HENRY D. HEDDEN, H. D. STEEVER.

